By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 427)
Taped November 2, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Stage AE
Aired in syndication on November 23, 2019, Fridays on SBG regional sports networks, Mondays on FITE.TV
The ROH opening aired and then Dragon Lee made his entrance. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise stood in the ring and welcomed viewers to The Experience event. The results of the fan voting for his opponent was revealed as Jeff Cobb with 41 percent over PJ Black with 31 percent, Kenny King with 15 percent, and Eli Isom with 12 percent… The broadcast team was Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman…
Highlights aired of Dragon Lee defeating Jeff Cobb. Cobb set up for his Tour of the Islands finisher, but Lee countered into a crucifix pin and got the three count…
Powell’s POV: You know, because viewers wouldn’t want to see that match in full. And if they idea is to drive people to HonorClub to watch the full match, the question then becomes how many people will pay to see a match when they’ve already seen the finish on television.
Show hosts Riccaboni and Quinn McKay checked in and explained The Experience concept with the fan voting. They plugged Rush and a partner chosen by the fans vs. Matt Taven with a partner chosen by the fans for later in the show. The options for the vote were Shane Taylor or Dalton Castle for both men. The fans selected Rush and Taylor vs. Taven and Castle by a 55 percent to 45 percent vote…
1. Rush and Shane Taylor vs. Matt Taven (w/Vincent, TK O’Ryan) and Dalton Castle. Taven and Rush bickered over who would start. Rush went for his finisher on Castle, who rolled to ringside in a panic while Riccaboni recalled Rush beating him with that move in short order at Madison Square Garden. Taven and Castle bickered at ringside until Rush and Taylor ran over and fought them on the floor going into the first commercial break. [C]
Castle caught Taylor with a DDT. Rush charged and Castle suplexed him. Castle performed a nice German suplex on Taylor, then Taven hit Taylor with his Just The Tip running knee, which led to Castle getting a two count. Taven caught Rush with a superkick that sent him to ringside, then Taven followed for a fight on the floor. In the ring, Taylor caught Castle with a headbutt and hit his finisher for the win… [C]
Rush and Shane Taylor defeated Matt Taven and Dalton Castle.
Powell’s POV: A good match with the singles champions defeating the former champions.
A video package aired for incoming wrestler Bateman…
The hosts spoke about the new talent that entered ROH in 2019. Riccaboni touted Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams, Bandido, Flamita, Mike Bailey, Kyle Fletcher, and Lucky Kid. Riccaboni praised the Top Prospect Tournament winner Dak Draper and set up his match…
2. Dak Draper vs. Ryan Nova. The match was billed as a television exclusive. Nova had an inset promo praising Draper for winning the tournament, yet noting that he never beat him. Draper handed Nova a green participant ribbon and gave him the option of taking it and giving up on the match. Nova declined and the match was on.
Dak Draper defeated Ryan Nova.
Powell’s POV: The match felt like it went longer than it needed to for a showcase, but the right guy went over. Draper is the Top Prospect Tournament winner and a former WWE developmental wrestler who went by the name of Travis Tyler.
Highlights aired of PCO beating Marty Scurll to earn the ROH Title shot against Rush at Final Battle. It included footage of Scurll telling PCO that no one deserves it more than him, followed by Brody King and Scurll raising his arms despite King and Flip Gordon interfering on behalf of Scurll during the match…
The hosts spoke about Final Battle for December 13 and the December 15 Final Battle Fallout event in Philadelphia…
The Top 5 segment hosted by Brian Zane focused on Final Battle moments:
5. Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries for the ROH Title in 2004.
4. Low Ki vs. Kenta in 2005.
3. Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson in 2008.
2. El Generico vs. Kevin Steen in a mask vs. career match in 2010.
1. The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Young Bucks in a Ladder War in 2018… [C]
Ring entrances for the ROH Six-Man Tag Title match took place. Marty Scurll and PCO made their entrance. Riccaboni said the board of directors appointed a tag partner for them due to Brody King’s injury. Dan Maff was introduced as the partner while the broadcast team spoke about Maff having a match scheduled the next day against PCO. Maff entered to a flat reaction while Riccaboni said it had been 13 or 14 years since Maff appeared in ROH and called him a founding father. Cruise introduced Colt Cabana, Jeff Cobb, and Cheeseburger as the three men chosen by the fans as the challengers… [C]
3. Marty Scurll, PCO, and Dan Maff vs. Colt Cabana, Jeff Cobb, and Cheeseburger for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. Cheeseburger climbed on Maff’s back and applied a sleeper hold. Maff performed a cannonball into the corner with Cheeseburger on his back to break the hold. Cheeseburger rolled to ringside, then Scurll kicked him from the apron going into the final break. [C]
Late in the match, Scurll tagged PCO’s back to tag himself into the match while Cobb was down. Scurll set up for his finisher, but Cobb hit him before he could apply the chicken wing. Cobb powered up Maff from the apron and superplexed him for no good reason, then tagged in Cheeseburger. The challengers executed a series of moves on Scurll that led to Cheeseburger getting a two count.
Cheeseburger set up for his palm strike, but Scurll avoided it and suplexed him. Scurll tagged PCO, who did his usual leap from the ropes before crashing and burning on the apron spot. Cheeseburger performed a rough looking double stomp from the top rope for a near fall. Cheeseburger hit his palm strike on PCO twice, but PCO no sold it and set him up for a tombstone. Cobb and Cabana tried to intervene, but PCO chokeslammed them while performing the tombstone on Cheeseburger. PCO went up top and Maff tagged himself in before PCO performed a top rope moonsault. PCO went for the cover, but Maff shoved him off and then performed a Burning Hammer on Cheeseburger and pinned him.
Marty Scurll, PCO, and Dan Maff beat Colt Cabana, Jeff Cobb, and Cheeseburger to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles.
Scurll tried to talk down PCO and Maff from going at one another afterward and the show abruptly ended…
Powell’s POV: The Maff and PCO drama was done to set up their singles match the next night, but it wasn’t even played up as a future television match. There are a couple of ways of looking at this show. The fan voting gimmick provided a couple of unique matchups and it was a solid show by recent ROH TV standards. But I would argue it’s far more important to be building to the Final Battle pay-per-view and this show did the bare minimum with the highlight package of PCO beating Scurll to win the tournament. It’s hard to imagine it gets better from here, as the last show before Final Battle was the comedic Unauthorized event. The only real bright spot of the new television format has been some wrestlers getting more promo time, but only Ryan Nova spoke briefly on this show. I really hope ROH blows up this format, gets more timely, and starts producing better television in 2020 or their bad 2019 slump is bound to continue into the new year.
Be the first to comment